Man Arrested In Minneapolis Sexual Assault Case

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Minneapolis Police said Thursday they’ve made an arrest and filed charges against a man in connection with a sexual assault that happened in late June.

Demarcus Nasson Chaney, 32, was arrested Tuesday and charged with two felony counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the incident. He’s currently in the Hennepin County Jail.

According to police, photos of two men of interest in the case were released on July 10. One of the men was identified as Chaney. The men were captured on video at a wireless store in the area of Lyndale Avenue and Lake Street trying to sell the victim’s phone of the day of the alleged assault.

A probation officer recognized Chaney and contacted police, and he was arrested without incident.

According to the charges, Minneapolis Police were called to the area of 22nd Street and Garfield Avenue at about 2:40 a.m. on June 24 on a report of a sexual assault at gunpoint. Two females told police, one of which was the victim, that a man had forced her into a nearby alley and put a gun to her head. The man, later identified as Chaney, raped her and stole her cell phone.

The complaint states that Chaney approached her after she had left Mortimer’s Bar, he pointed a gun to her head and told her if she screamed he would kill her.

Police tracked Chaney through the cell phone he stole, which was eventually found at a World of Wireless store. Through DNA samples from the victim and Chaney, authorities were able to link him to the sexual assault, according to the complaint.

If convicted, Chaney faces up to 60 years in prison and $80,000 in fines.